Vinings, GA. (Top40 Charts/ King Mojo Records) - Among the special guests joining the incendiary guitar work and vocals of Big Shanty are the legendary Col. Bruce Hampton, guitarist Liz Melendez and guitarist Spencer Kirkpatrick a founding member of seminal Atlanta blues/rock band, Hydra. Sold Out was produced by Scott Robertson and mastered by the acclaimed Rodney Mills (Atlanta Rhythm Section, Gregg Allman).
Big Shanty came out of the box in 2007 on his second album, Ride With the Wind, amidst a sonic rain of acid guitars and synth beats that was all over internet, satellite and college radio. He blasted politicians with his anti-war song, 'Killing Fields,' which went on to become number-one for five-weeks on the 'Blues Critic' chart. Ride With The Wind stayed top-ten on their album chart for five-months, and Big Shanty was nominated as 'Best New Artist,' with his single nominated for 'Best Blues Song.' Topping the year, Canada's Real Blues Magazine selected Big Shanty's renegade blues-rock album as the No 1 Blues Album of 2007.'
Big Shanty mixes retro Delta Blues with techno club beats to drive the unique stories he tells and fans have responded by downloading his songs a quarter-million times from his indy label's free download website: www.kingmojo.com.
Internationally acclaimed, Big Shanty hit number one on Paris's internet blues giant 'Midnight Special' and top-ten on internet blues stations in Australia, Belgium and Scandinavia. Big Shanty received rave reviews in publications from London's UK ROCK Magazine to New York's Downbeat magazine, all without the benefit of major label backing, corporate radio airplay, MTV, or any assistance from the music biz's star-making machinery.
On his last album, music reviewers compared Big Shanty's sound to everyone from the White Stripes, Lonnie Brooks and Jimi Hendrix, to Root Boy Slim and Neil Young. On Sold Out', Shanty works hard to measure up to such high praise and delivers a brilliant collection of original songs with the help of some old friends like the legendary Godfather of jam bands, Col. Bruce Hampton; amazing blues guitar diva Liz Melendez; cutting-edge guitarists Spencer Kirkpatrick and Chris Blackwell; the driving basses of Dustin Sargent and Kevin Scott; the roadhouse 88's of Rick Phillips and the unrivaled drums of Scott Robertson. These self-styled rock and blues bohemians gathered at Atlanta's secluded STR studios and created a swarm of raw, rocking, high-octane blues on Sold Out that is guaranteed to send reviewers looking for new ways to describe his 21st century blues - and fans around the globe just digging the vibe.